50 Most Influential Comics of the '80s

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The ‘80s were a vibrantly transgressive time for comics. Creators were constantly pushing the envelope, challenging the scope and content of genres. Most of what was produced during the decade is still relevant and influential today (just check out your Netflix queue and try to imagine what it would look like without any Marvel Cinematic Universe content forged in the ‘80s).

Because so many great stories came out in the decade—and because there are only so many spots on this list—some of your favorites might have missed the cut. Mike Grell’s Green Arrow story Longbow Hunter isn’t here, and neither is John Byrne’s Man of Steel or the George Perez Wonder Woman run. It doesn’t mean they aren’t amazing. It just means we had to make tough choices.

We also couldn’t include all the superb independent artists who produced groundbreaking work during the decade, so we left out some well-known works in order to highlight some underrated gems. For instance, Art Spiegelman’s Maus isn’t here, while Charles Burns’ Big Baby—which started as a feature in Spiegelman’s avant-garde comics magazine Raw—is.

Ultimately, this magazine aims to give you a multi-faceted picture of this decade of passionate creativity which redefined the comicsverse.